No more excuses, the holiday season ended a while ago, so it’s time to kickstart your detox programme with this Doha rose restoration treatment at Grand Hyatt’s Arabian-inspired Jaula Spa.

The warm smiles and hearty welcomes as we walked into the standalone spa made us forget all about leaving our partying ways behind us, our thoughts turning instead to the Doha rose restoration treatment, which uses maritime ingredients, marine algae and sea salt, combined with clay and olive stones, to rejuvenate the skin.

One shot of ginger and carrot juice later – that’s one of our five-a-day ticked off – in the relaxing surroundings of the Jaula Spa reception, and we were being calmly escorted by Ari, our Balinese therapist, down a long corridor and into a vast treatment room complete with Jacuzzi and separate relaxation area. Jaula’s ‘spa suites’ all offer an ensuite changing area, bathroom and shower, so there’s no fear of bumping, half-naked but for a dressing gown into your neighbour, partner’s boss or son’s teacher. Ari invited us to climb onto the bed in preparation for the detoxing scrub, rub, wrap and facial we were about to receive.

The black sea salt scrub, a product from French spa expert Anne Semonin, came first, with promises of removing some of the toxins that cause cellulite – something we all need help with (unless, of course, you are Gisele Bundchen). This is not for the faint-hearted. We can only liken the all-over scrub to being rubbed down with fine sandpaper, the friction of which produced a slight burning sensation. I repeated the beauty mantra over and over in my head ‘no pain no gain, no pain no gain.’

Soon the scrub was over – phew! – but before we stepped under the most enormous showerhead we had ever seen, we caught a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror, looking like we had spent a morning by the pool, suncreamless. A little bit red, then.

Thankfully, the rub down with cold body butter was much more relaxing and enjoyable, soothing all discomfort away. We were then swaddled in towels – the wrap part we assume – and given a divine head massage and facial that took us from willing the two hours to be over to hoping that Ari’s watch had stopped.

Sadly it hadn’t. A gentle shake and we were done, free to go and luxuriate in the Jacuzzi for up to an hour, which we loved, sipping green tea and chomping on nuts, figs and dates. It was at this point that we noticed that Ari had amazingly managed to uncover some non-desert-dried-out skin – and we found ourselves wondering how many layers she had to get rid of to find it.

Our skin looked and felt silky smooth, in fact we’d even go so far as to say that it’s skin that wouldn’t look out of place on a baby’s behind – result! We were advised to repeat the treatment every two weeks. Now, whilst we are more than willing to go through the pain for the gain, the somewhat high price means that we have to accept the fact – back in two weeks we won’t be, which also means that less frequent visits will mean more vigorous scrubbing. So, whilst this treatment gets the huge detox thumbs-up from Time Out, the price means it will have to be saved for special occasions only – now, what do we have coming up soon?
Doha rose restoration, 120 minutes, QR900. Jaula Spa, Grand Hyatt (448 1234). Open daily 9am-9pm.